Daiwa Exist 2012 sure to keep Dai-hards happy

Daiwa has just announced the latest in high end light tackle technology, the new Exist 2012. The 2012 Exist features an all Zaion body and rotor, keeping weight down to as little as 160 grams on the 1003 model. Zaion has been a proven and tested material, designed to reduce weight whilst still maintaining as much, if not more strength that its metal bodied counterparts.

The interesting feature on the new Exist is the mag sealed line roller. We all know how often line rollers are exposed to the harsh conditions and more than often it is the first bearing to corrode. No matter how corrosion resistant bearings are, the line roller always gets a hiding in Saltwater. This new magsealed line roller will keep your roller running smooth.

Each exist is individually constructed, and for those Dai-hards they come complete with a serial number to call your own. The 2012 Exist sports a number of well known other features including a seamless airbail, ABS II, Ultra Tournament drag and ofcourse the original magseal premiered on the current model Certate and Caldias in 2010-11.

Five sizes are to be released in Australia including 1003, 2004, 2508-PEH,2510R-PE and the biggest of the bunch the 3012H.

Available March 2012, keep an eye out for them at a Bream or Bass tournament near you!

http://daiwafishing.com.au/?p=11076

Is there a new Saltiga Dogfight on the horizon?

In 2011, Daiwa Australia took its infamous Dogfight off the market. No longer available, anglers are still frantically calling around tackle stores trying to chase down one to call their own. While some might say Daiwa is crazy cutting such a popular reel, it’s worked before and no doubt they will do it again.

Daiwa loves to get every drop out their new ranges before bringing in additional “tweaked models”. This is reminiscent of their 2001-2002 release of the original Z series Saltiga’s. It took quite a few years before the limited editions such as the Dogfight and the Oz exclusive S-extreme series were released.

Anglers buy up the original release, get their value out of the reels, and a few years later comes an urge to buy again. It makes perfect business sense to keep something up their sleeves for later. Daiwa’s done this before with their Millionaire series, bringing in the cult favourite Black Sheep after the success of the rest of the range. Again the black sheep is still a highly sought after reel.

So can we hope to see a new Dogfight at some point soon? Probably not. At the AFTA trade show in August 2012 there always a chance of a new release, but considering it took 4 odd years before we saw the last one then it’s unlikely we will see any new limited editions this year. After all, the 6500 sizes didn’t arrive in Oz until the later half of 2011, so much for “2010 Saltiga”.

Realistically we can’t expect anything until 2013/14 so let’s hope the mayans got it wrong. Until then, Daiwa fanboys will have to keep their fingers crossed and eyes open for what Shimano might have to put on the table first.

Studio Ocean Mark at TackleTester

At Tackle Tester, we have seen all sorts of reels touted as the next best Sambo jigger. Many of these don’t make their first season, some  don’t even survive their first outing.

Studio Ocean Mark is a Japanese outfit catering to specialist jigging and popping fishers. Their 16000 spool is a must for ever angler that wants a bit more capacity on their Shimano Stella SW10000, to fish them right to the limit.

They have gone one better than that though. Not content to make aftermarket parts for Shimano and Daiwa, they have made their own entire reels and we have one here for testing. Saber Strokers, the Australian and Asia region distributor, have sent us  a  Studio Ocean Mark L120hi to test!

On paper, its a fantastic reel! The reel is pushing out a max drag of 20kg, with a 5.4:1 gearing taking 116cm of line per turn. It features angular contact bearings, ball bearings and double-stacked one-way bearings for antireverse to an impressive total of 11 bearings. Line capacity is 300m/PE8 right through to 600m/PE4, we will be looking to fill it with PE5. It checks in at 780g, but you can just tell how well its built when you feel it’s heft.

That is enough of the paper though, the freespool is over 30seconds with a bare spool, pretty sure we can get minutes once we have it loaded. Expect to see this reel a bit more once we get the line onto it and take it for a spin!

Don’t forget to try Saber Strokers for both the L120, and other SOM aftermarket parts.

Canyon Reels now available down under

US Company Canyon Reels have recently gone global, with the release on an Australian distributor. Canyon Reels has been successful entering the US game market, with a range of high quality but affordable trolling and jigging reels. This increasingly popular range is now available down under.
 

The Australian distributor(Canyon Reels Australia) seems to be stocking the full range of HS and HS-X jigging reels to cater for the current jigging crazy sweeping the nation. The game fishermen have not been left out either, with the range of EX trolling reels also heading to a tackle store near you.

The HS start at around $330AUD and the EX at $525AUD, placing them in range of most anglers wallets.

“Canyon Reels Australia is the first international distributor of Canyon Reels products. We have partnered with them for an exclusive distribution deal in Australia to offer the locals the highest quality product with the convenience of ordering and shipping from an Australian company.

We love all the support we have been getting from around the globe, and we can’t wait to expand even more in the future! www.canyonreels.com”

For more information check out the Aussie distributors website @ http://canyonreels.com.au/index.php

Fin-nor Marquesa 2-speed reels

The Marquesa range by Fin-nor has been out for a couple years now, but the 2-speed reels are a welcome addition to the existing range.

These fully machined and anodised fishing weapons are built to last on the longest and most arduous of fights. The one piece frame houses oversized stainless steel gearing, 7 stainless bearings and Fin-nors advanced carbon fibre drag assembly.

A noteworthy point is the pairing of 2 quite different gear ratios. Instead of the more conventional 2 speed reels that end up with a two very similar gear ratios, Fin-nor have opted for a slow and torquey 3.1:1 and a super fast 6.1:1, making them one of the most versitile 2 speeds on the market. At its highest speed and a full spool, the angler can bring in 1.3 meters per handle turn.

Even at 25lb(11.4kg) of strike drag pressure, the reels can free spool, making them ideal for switching baiting and floaters. A max drag, the Marquesa 2 speeds pull out a very impressive 45lb(20kg) of drag giving the angler plenty of stopping power. The double ratcheted infinite anti reverse provides solid hook up.

It is not just made for trolling and deep drop, this reel is apparently castable with an internal set of casting breaks and weighing in at a modest 800 grams.

Fin-not have certainly packed a lot in to a small reel. Bold claims by this tackle manufacturer, but as long as the impressive specs perform as well as they say, anglers are in for one hell of a reel!

For more info check out http://www.finnorfishing.com/

 

 

Daiwa Caldia back with a vengeance for 2011

While the 2010 Daiwa Caldia was a great reel, there wasn’t anything ridiculously new and high tech. It was just a good, affordable little package. Well Daiwa has really stepped up there game this time around and are preparing for the release of the new 2011 caldia.

While Daiwa Australia have yet to officially release much else beside the teaser image below, we have a good source that has divulged the reel is “very likely” to be released with a very similar waterproofing system to the Certate. The mag seal looks to make an appearance in the new Caldia, and the cheaper Oil Seal will continue for the cheaper models such as the new 2011 Freams. Expected the price to be similar to the Luvias of days gone by.

More info due around August 12(After the AFTA trade show)

Stay tuned!

 

Update – New pics!

Shimano Sustain FG – Back in Black

Ok so Shimano went back to white for the new Stradic FJ series and saved bad black for the Sustain FG. In the process, they updated the reel with some top new features.

• X-Ship, allowing closer and smother gear meshing and a ball-bearing at the end of the pinion gear,  something we first saw in the 2010 Stella
• Mangunmlite Ci4 rotor for the 1000-4000 sizes
• Reel stand to prevent scratches, and maybe hang a hook off it.
• A new EVA ball handle.
• Waterproof rapid-fire drag.
• New fully machined handle.
• Saltwater approved.

No idea on the Aus release date, but expect them to ship for the US Summer season priced between $329 and $349US, depending on the model.

Shimano Stradic FJ – It don’t matter if your pearl or white

It’s baaack. The white, or pearl if you are that way inclined, Stradic is back in the new Shimano Stradic FJ for 2011. I guess its only fitting that it made it a come back, since for many or us the original white Stradic was one of the first quality reels many of us owned, including myself.

So whats new with Stradic FJ? Plenty. The biggest improvement in the FJ is the use of the X-Ship system that gives improved performance and a new smoothness to the reel. X-ship uses a pinion that is support by a 2 bearings, which increases gear efficiency and reduces inertia, something that the lower end Shimanos have been lacking. X-Ship was previously used in the higher end models such as the Stella FE. The Stradic FJ is also home to an array of Shimanos performance features including Paladin gears, SR-Concept, Waterproof drag, Aerowrap II oscillation and much more(See list below for more details).

The Stradic FJ is available in 7 distinct sizes. ST1000FJ, 2500FJ, 3000FJ, 4000FJ, 5000FJ, 6000FJ and 8000FJ. This new FJ has modern features and a classic finish and is sure to peform as well as it looks. Available soon.

# Aluminum Rotor, Sideplate
# Paladin Gear Durability Enhancement
# Propulsion Line Management System: Propulsion Spool Lip, SR One-Piece Bail Wire, Power Roller III, Redesigned Bail Trip, S-Arm Cam
# Aero Wrap II Oscillation
# SR-Concept: SR-3D Gear, SR Handle, SR One-Piece Bail Wire
# S A-RB Ball Bearings
# Aluminum Spool
# S-Concept: S-Rotor, S-Guard, S-Arm Cam
# New Machined Aluminum Handle
# Direct Drive Mechanism (Thread-In attachment)
# WP Drag (Waterproof Drag)
# Maintenance Port
# Fluidrive II
# Floating Shaft
# Dyna-Balance
# Super Stopper II
# Maintenance Port
# Fluidrive II
# Floating Shaft
# Dyna-Balance
# Super Stopper II
# Repairable Clicker

 

Synit/Accurate Revisted

As frequent readers would know, we have tested and reviewed the Synit DeepShots a few times: here, and here, and dry-tested the Accurate Boss BX-600N here too. A few more fish later, it was time to see how they’re going!

We have had the pleasure of fishing the Accurate BX600XN and the BX600, and this is the two reels compared:

• Drag: we’re fishing PE5/70lb, or PE6/80lb and we have benchmarked the drag to 15kg and they seem to run that fine.
• Capacity: the BX600 takes 600m of PE6, the BX600N barely takes 600m of PE5. We really feel that is about the sweet spot for deep-drop jigging. So far we haven’t been overpowered on PE5 yet and do appreciate the reduced line drag in the water.
• Gearing: we really expected the high gearing to be less suitable for deep sea jigging, but it has so-far proved fine. You can’t grind small fish up on the high speed, you must pump and wind, but even 600g jigs can be spun up no problems. OTOH the low gear is fine and you can jig all day. It certainly provides a bit more turning power for those pesky Samson Fish.
• Palmability: the BX600N was a very good match for the Synit with the Fuji Palm Support System reel seat. The BX600 was a little wider and less comfortable, but if you need the capacity, go for it!
• Maintenance: both reels are going strong with nothing more than the occasional dab of the supplied Reel-X.
• Handles/Arms: its probably a touch on the short side, and you really only feel it with the high-gear.

If you want an all-round, all-day deep jigger, you can’t beat the Accurate BX600N, in either the high or low gear. We’re using 600m PE5/70lb for the cod, and swapping this out for 350m of PE8/100lb for the sambo sessions, hopefully a few more outings in the coming season.

We have grown fans of the awkward-looking Synit antacid wrap. Its really a step past the acid wrap a few brands are using. The oval guide very effectively zeros the spiral around the blank, and the taller reversed stripper keeps the line central for the narrow jigging reels like the Accurate BX-600N.

The blank is super tolerant of a wide range of jig sizes. We have successfully worked anything from 200g in 100m right up to 600g in 350m on it, and it handles it very well.

Our most recent trip was a good workout for the gear:  a 4kn drift in 350m. We sized up to the 520g LJ Nasout jig and only really just managed to hold bottom, a fellow angler with the same jig and PE6 just couldn’t make it down. Lucky the fish found it!

Van Staal VM -150

The VM150 isVan Staals way of giving you all the original features of the Van Staal but in a more modern package. Still built to handle anything you can throw at them, the VM150 features stainless steel main and pinion gears, handle arm and bail holder. The stainless gears give you immense strength but as with all stainless on stainless gears there is a bit of noise that comes with that.

The exterior of the VM150 is machined aluminium. This goes from the body, side cover, spool, arm lever, handle knob and even up to the drag know – there is not much that isnt built out of the light and tough machined aluminium.

A noticeable feature of this reel is that it now has, wait for it, interchangeable handles. No longer are you just stuck with a left or right hand wind reel. If for nothing else this increases Van Staals customer base and the re-sale value of such a high end reel.

They have kept it short and sweet internally. 5 ball bearings in all the right places, a 4.9:1 ration with a one way anti reverse bearing. The drag pulls an impressive 15kg plus of pressure through its carbon fibre drag washers.

If your after all the toughness of the original VS, with the added practicality of modern design, then its hard to look past the VM150 for all of your heavy duty spinning, popping and jigging needs.

For more information, check out http://www.vanstaal.com/VM150_reels.htm

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